Use the Von Restorff Effect When Learning Complex Concepts
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Memory is incredibly complex, which is likely why it’s so widely studied and researched, and why researchers who make important discoveries about its functioning give phenomena their proper names. A prime example is the von Restorff effect, which describes our brain’s ability to remember individual pieces of information over more homogeneous ones. This fact was discovered by German psychiatrist Hedwig von Restorff. It’s an interesting biological fact, but it can also be very useful to know when exploring a complex concept. Here’s why and how to effectively use the von Restorff effect.
What is the von Restorff effect?
In previous articles, I’ve discussed various memory effects you can use in your studies, such as the primacy effect , the Proust effect , and the production effect . They all begin with a nice round “P” and the consonant “Pr-.” If I were to add the von Restorff effect to this list, it would stand out solely because of the variety in its name—the crisp angle of that “V” and the hard sound of “Restorff.” Because of this, you’re more likely to recall the von Restorff effect when asked to name the four memory phenomena we just discussed—and that’s the von Restorff effect in action.
Simply put, this is the “isolation effect,” which ensures that your brain will remember a list item if it has a distinctive feature that distinguishes it from other items on the list. During learning, this effect can be achieved by varying the prominence of an item or piece of information in some way, such as through color, size, font choice, or other means.
How to Use the Von Restorff Effect to Remember What You Learn
The good news is that, unlike other memorization-based learning methods, this one is quite simple. It’s almost too simple, so you might not be familiar with it or have never considered using it. Once you understand the simplicity of this concept, you’ll easily find ways to incorporate it into your study habits.
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In your notes, use a highlighter to highlight words or concepts you need to remember for the test. Color-coding your notes is an extremely useful study technique in itself, as even simply identifying colors and their meanings helps you focus.
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Using flashcards, write concepts and words you’re having trouble understanding in a different color. If you use the Leitner Method (and you should), you can rewrite or create flashcards each time you practice them. With this technique, you move cards into stacks each time you get them right or wrong, then study the stacks with varying frequency, focusing on those you know less often than those you struggle with. Every few times you move a card up or down a stack, try rewriting or creating it using a different text color. If a card is red and your light color is blue, you’ll get an instant reminder that you recently struggled with that card, which can help you consolidate and retrieve the information from memory using active recall .
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When studying with others and discussing the material (or reading your notes aloud), try to associate a unique movement—such as a particular hand gesture—with the concepts you are discussing.
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Use a shape, such as a circle or rectangle, to highlight key parts of your notes or textbook material. Do this especially when creating mind maps to ensure consistency across all your mind maps. Dates can be enclosed in squares, words in circles, and so on. For quick and effective mind mapping, I recommend the app Xmind .
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Also, when mind mapping, move the circle containing the most important concepts (or the one you’re having trouble understanding) to the far side of the page, visually separating it from the other clusters. I do a version of this with my to-do list, which I keep on a board on the refrigerator. Unusual items, like a doctor’s appointment or something I need to buy but don’t usually take with me on my weekly grocery run, are written off to the side. This makes them more noticeable, drawing my attention away from the larger block of text and reminding me again and again that I need to do them. By the time the day of the doctor’s appointment arrives or I’m at the store trying to remember my list, they’re already imprinted in my brain.
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If you’re editing your notes, use different text styles. I did this all the time in college, even when I was taking notes in class. I would bold anything the professor would lead up to and announce, “This will be on the exam.” I would highlight words that are frequently used in the vocabulary list in purple. Even if you’re handwriting ( which is a good idea! ), you can use squiggly underlines to underline certain ideas, circle others… you get the idea. Experiment a little, but stick to consistency. If you draw a big box around one date, do that for all of them. If you draw arrows pointing to a state law and a circle around a federal law, do that for all of them.
The goal is to differentiate what you need or find difficult to remember using color, movement, shape, or even orientation. Separating certain ideas or words will help them stick better in your memory, no matter how you do it.